chrisbrogan.com» openforum

On OPEN Forum – Make Love to Your Database

ceb — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:40:16 +0000

I wrote a post over at OPEN Forum called Make Love to Your Database. (First off, I’m so jazzed that the title was okay, editorially!)

Here’s the first little bit:

Lately, I’ve been thinking that we have too much data. We can collect data all day: Web site stats, sentiment analysis, survey results. The thing is, if we never act on what we’re collecting, then it’s just as bad as not having collected the data in the first place. For instance, one of my jobs is as a professional speaker. I’ve never yet prospected my email newsletter list for whether I could find speaking gigs there. When I finally took some time to look, I was stunned by the quality of companies I could reach with my messages.

Read the rest here.

You as an Entertainer – An OPENForum Post

ceb — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:37:25 +0000

Over at OPENForum, I wrote about the concept of you as an entertainer. I think business is shifting, that we have to add an “entertainer” layer. Ads are boring. Interesting and useful content are great. That’s the mindset, at least.

What do you think?

You as an Entertainer.

On OPENForum – Make Decisions or Else

ceb — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:24:25 +0000

Over on OPENForum, I wrote a post about how important decision-making is to a business. In the case of this post, I am mostly talking about deciding when NOT to do things, but I feel it goes even further than that. You face lots of decisions every day.

Want to talk more about it?

Swing by OPENForum.

On OPEN Forum- Quick Customer Touchpoints

ceb — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:12:23 +0000

I’ve written a post called Quick Customer Touchpoints for business people today over at the American Express OPENForum. It talks about contact/customer management topics, as well as some ways to keep your connections alive.

Hope you enjoy.

Quick Customer Touchpoints.

Twitter Search and Money – On OPENForum

ceb — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:28:19 +0000

Over on American Express’s OPENForum, I wrote about Twitter Search and Money, about how companies can find financial value in using Twitter search. However, pay close attention to the comments. People have added some other tools that they feel work even better.

Twitter Search and Money (AMEX OPENForum)

The Location Game – Over on OPENForum

ceb — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:31:09 +0000

I wrote a new post over at OPENForum:

Location-based applications on mobile devices are all the rage. You might have already seen some hints of what local will do for you by using Google Local, but rest assured that this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you realize that more and more people are using smartphones, and that more and more people are searching for your business while mobile, you’re going to have to shift some attention into how you show up in the location-aware world.

Get Ahead of the Location Game

The Social Media Pie – over on OPEN Forum

ceb — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:55:14 +0000

I wrote a piece called Slicing Your Social Media Pie over at the American Express OPENForum. It might appeal to your time management selves. : ) I am writing there weekly for all of 2010. Hope you swing by.

Slicing Your Social Media Pie.

You Stink- Give Me More

ceb — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:48:41 +0000

I just heard from Lee Baler at Digitas. He wrote to thank me for the links to Seth Godin’s videos the other day, and that his team was part of the group working with AMEX Open Forum on their content. He told me a bit more about all that they’ve been doing to roll out more and more innovative and useful content over on the Open Forum site, and he’s right. They’ve got GREAT stuff that goes well with the Seth Godin masterpiece.

But what I loved was this snippet at the end. Lee Baler said this:

Why I’m contacting you is you made a point that we all completely agree with regarding the embed tags. I thought you let us off the hook too easily. You should have nailed us for not distributing this content more widely.

Man, I LOVE that! I love that Lee wasn’t upset or offended that I wanted the site to improve, and I love that he asked for me.

What Companies Should Take Away

First, points to Digitas and especially Lee Baler, for coming back and telling me what he thought. Super big points for asking for more. And third, excellent that he was listening in the first place so that he could engage a blogger in the midst of all the other traffic.

Second, companies have to absorb negative and critical comments. No, you don’t have to accept vulgarity and trash talk (just talked about a corporate comment policy) , but when someone acknowledges you at all, step up and say, “Thanks for the comment.” Now, the power move comes when you do something like Lee and say, give me even MORE to work with here.

Finally, how easy have you made it for people to reach out and comment? Make it ridiculously easy. Make it as ubiquitous as leaves on the driveway in the fall. Allow your customers to slather you with thoughts, because guess what, kiddos? That’s the seed for opportunity. Every touch is the chance to have another interaction. Take them up on it.

Are you encouraging feedback? Are you BEGGING for it? Are you plastering people with your interest in listening nearly as much as you are your interest in blathering at them? DO it.

And you? What should I be doing for YOU that I’m not doing these days? What else do you need? How can I do more?